I consider this birthday a landmark birthday… from here I am officially a senior citizen.

My adult working kids treated me to a hot pot dinner.

I tried getting a bunch of friends together at Porkchop House the next day to celebrate but only a few showed up… oh well.

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How’s everything?

A bit relieved the lawsuit over family property is over. I got my wish of staying in the house I live in. I continue the “ancestral home”.

But the whole ordeal have left me broke. I’m starting from zero and having troubles paying my bills.

I have not started receiving social security yet. I hope to do so next year. It isn’t much since I have been self employed all these years. It doesn’t make sense… the MIL just immigrated here about seventeen years ago… worked maybe a year as a caregiver. And she gets more than me…plus section eight senior housing which only costs 20% of her social security. I will get two hundred less.

My business has mostly come to a halt… no more t-shirt printing orders nor have I printed any of my own line. There’s a new inkjet printing process which would take me about $40k to get started. I’m more inclined to throw in the towel on that.

Photography is like agggh… no more wedding photography for me. I just don’t have the stamina for it.

People no longer put out the money to hire a professional photographer anymore. Ordering prints are not important anymore. Nor do they care for a nice photo album like before. They are just satisfied with seeing their images on a computer screen.

My last portrait job was weird… the client suddenly felt they were overcharged after the fact and wanted me to give some money back. I was compared to a guy who does things for free.

Okay enough ranting for now…

Happy 65th birthday! I am greeted at the gates of sixty five. I am a senior citizen!

Whelp… a big chapter in my life has come to an end. The surrender of all the keys to the apt.

It is through this last act that I realize the burden on my shoulders all these yours are largely over.

That I am no longer in their shadows.

I had to give away my 1973 VW Bus which I have had since 1992. I really loved that bus. But it’s a real gas guzzler… only 12-14 city miles to a gallon. I have not driven it in a few years. The battery completely died. The tires needed air. The reverse seemed a bit frozen from the parking brakes.

I had to clear out a bunch of stuff. A lot of family history.

It was right up to the wire. I stayed all night. No one helped. I didn’t realize how tired I was till after I delivered the keys.

Warm up about two cups of oil is a pot with some bay leaves, a couple of star anise and about a teaspoon of Sichuan peppercorns. Heat till a white smoke rises from the oil. Remove the bay leaves, anise and peppercorns.